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Despite finishing the first leg of the
floodlight race in second place, Shiffrin charged down the
course on her second run to win the race by an impressive margin
of 0.94 seconds.
It was the 22-year-old's eighth victory in the last nine races
in all disciplines, her form peaking at the perfect time with
the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang one month away, and the 41st
World Cup win of her career.
Shiffrin is widely expected to retain the Olympic slalom title
she won at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia, as well as having a
shot at gold medals in the giant slalom and Super G.
Austria's Bernadette Schild was fastest on the first leg by 0.37
seconds but, skiing last on the second, had already dropped
behind Shiffrin's time on the first third of the course.
Shiffrin said she had been nervous after finishing joint third
at the same venue last year and was glad to have won a race
after trailing on the first leg.
"Maybe I needed to do that tonight," she told Austrian
broadcaster ORF. "I was a bit anxious about this race and I made
some mistakes on the first run. On the second, I finally got
what I wanted from this hill."
Shiffrin, who won her maiden overall World Cup title last
season, tops the overall standings with 1,381 points, a lead of
821 over second-placed Wendy Holdener of Switzerland.
(Writing by Brian Homewood in Berne; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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